Recent Reads: Broken Hallelujahs by Beth Allen Slevcove
What the book's about: Broken Hallelujahs is as, the subtitle says, about learning to grieve the big and small losses of life. It reads like a memoir and indeed, Beth shares vulnerably from her life. Yet, it's packed with theology and practical prayer practices.
Why I read this book: I recognized Beth's name from some of the things she's done in the youth ministry world. Between that and hearing lots of great things about this book, I decided to give it a read.
My favorite quotes from the book:
- "I needed to come to terms with a God who might not give me 'the desires of my heart' - at least not in the way I once believed God would, not in the way I wanted. I needed to be able to say yes to God, regardless of the outcome."
- "I had no idea that my pilgrimage of faith would involve losing my religion."
- "We grieve because life hurts us sometimes. We also grieve in order to see the beauty, feel the joy, hear the laughter and be touched by God's innumerable grace that courses through our veins and sneaks into our circumstances."
- "We are all God's ADHD children. We spend the majority of our time distracted from the things we most want to be paying attention to."
- "Forgiveness means no longer putting myself in the judgment seat over another, or over the circumstances of my life, but releasing the wrongdoing to the care and judgment of God... Forgiveness is not a magical incantation but a journey of letting go."
- "We needed this community to expose us to the God who both comforts and disturbs."
Who I'd recommend this book for: I wholeheartedly recommend this book for those in the midst of any kind of grief. Fans of memoir will also appreciate Beth's writing style. Additionally, those in ministry will find her prayer practices helpful and transferable to their work.
